The 1970’s came on the heels of one of the most progressive decades in history, so some kind of backlash was to be expected. Dino Valenti’s message of “love one another right now” faded into distant memory as fear, conflict and violence dominated public consciousness. I look at the history of the era and it seems to me that everyone was pissed off about something: inflation, busing, Nixon, Carter, wars, blackouts, psychotic serial killers, terrorists, free agency in baseball, OPEC . . . you name it. Given all the bad vibes, it’s no wonder that 70’s people would find comfort in take-no-prisoners-just-kill-them-all heroes like Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson, and seek serenity in the mindless superficiality of K. C. and the Sunshine Band.
Glad I missed it!
The diversity of music in the 60’s hardened into fragmentation in the 70’s. In the 60’s rock was a very broad and encompassing field. In the 70’s, the nit-pickers and marketing gurus split rock into sub-genres (hard rock, classic rock, progressive, metal, glam, punk, new wave), and the average fan began to identify with a single genre that suited the image he or she wanted to project to the world. Strong identification with any belief tends to generate dogmatism, a tendency best demonstrated by the war between punks and progressives. While sub-genres would eventually become musical cul-de-sacs, in the 70’s they had a clarifying effect that led to a pretty good decade for popular music.
Links to 70’s reviews can be found in the chronological list below. You’ll find reviews of Jethro Tull, The Kinks and The Clash in their own sections.
- Moondance by Van Morrison
- John Barleycorn Must Die by Traffic
- Parachute by The Pretty Things
- Shazam by The Move
- Fun House by The Stooges
- Workingman’s Dead by The Grateful Dead
- 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus by Spirit
- At Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers Band
- The Yes Album
- Who’s Next by The Who
- Every Picture Tells a Story by Rod Stewart
- Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy by The Who
- Message from the Country by The Move
- Nursery Cryme by Genesis
- The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys by Traffic
- Hunky Dory by David Bowie
- Bad Company by Bad Company
- No Answer by The Electric Light Orchestra
- Argus by Wishbone Ash
- Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie
- The New York Dolls
- All the Young Dudes by Mott the Hoople
- Trilogy by Emerson, Lake and Palmer
- Brothers and Sisters by The Allman Brothers
- Aladdin Sane by David Bowie
- Below the Salt by Steeleye Span
- “Live” Full House by The J Geils Band
- Can’t Buy a Thrill by Steely Dan
- Bill Withers at Carnegie Hall
- The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
- Pipedream by Alan Hull
- Innervisions by Stevie Wonder
- Where’s the Money? by Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks
- Pretzel Logic by Steely Dan
- Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal by Lou Reed
- The Essential Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
- A Night at the Opera by Queen
- Silly Sisters by Maddy Prior and June Tabor
- Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes by Jimmy Buffett
- “Heroes” by David Bowie
- Aja by Steely Dan
- Never Mind the Bollocks by The Sex Pistols
- Rocket to Russia by The Ramones
- The Cars
- Parallel Lines by Blondie
- Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo by Devo
- Like Flies on Sherbert by Alex Chilton
- Heaven Tonight by Cheap Trick
- Breakfast in America by Supertramp